| Title | : | Mad about Shakespeare: From Classroom to Theatre to Emergency Room |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780008167486 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Audiobook |
| Number of Pages | : | - |
| Publication | : | First published April 14, 2022 |
‘The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.’
How does one survive the death of a loved one, the mess of war, the experience of being schooled, of falling in love, of growing old, of losing your mind?
Shakespeare’s world is never too far different from our own ‘permeated with the same tragedies, the same existential questions and domestic worries. In this extraordinary book, Jonathan Bate brings then and now together. He investigates moments of his own life – losses and challenges – and asks whether, if you persevere with Shakespeare, he can offer a word of wisdom or a human insight for any time or any crisis. Along the way we meet actors such as Judi Dench and Simon Callow, and writers such as Dr Johnson, John Keats, Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath, who turned to Shakespeare in their own dark times.
This is a personal story about loss, the black dog of depression, unexpected journeys and the very human things that echo through time, resonating with us all at one point or another.
Mad about Shakespeare: From Classroom to Theatre to Emergency Room Reviews
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A smart and engaging way for the author to share some deep personal stories and see them through a Shakespearian lens. Some great passages are chosen and have been carefully and thoughtfully picked for this read. The level of detail and how they parallel with the authors life is quite astonishing.
A great blend of genres through Shakespeare's work, but also lots of other established writers are referenced too including Woolf, Plath and Ben Jonson, amongst others.
Some quite significant moments in the authors life are well compared to Shakespeare and it'll definitely make me see things differently next time I re-read him.
Memoir-like with Shakespeare to accompany it.
Beautiful. -
What can I say about this book? Maybe, read it!
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For anyone who loves literature, not just Shakespeare. I cried at the last chapter (audiobook while driving, whoops!)
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An excellent book dealing with two linked but distinct themes. First is a memoir of Bate's life (and especially his early life) told through his relationship to Shakespeare. Second is a book about writing - or writers - and mental illness, with much reference to Shakespeare but with other figures taking centre stage, including Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf and TS Eliot.
While the book is good on both themes, it makes for a slightly disjointed read and not the book that we are promised by the title - only the first half fits that bill, and I found myself wishing for a memoir of Bate's post-university days told through his relationship with Shakespeare.
The first half is superb, however, with nuggets of wisdom peppered throughout, from both Bate and the cast of superb teachers that he was blessed with. There is also an emotional and heartfelt final chapter, which demonstrates why Bate is an enjoyable writer to spend time with - he is honest and self-aware.
One final gripe that isn't with the writing, but with the book as produced - why on earth is there no index? This is a book I will be diving back into when I read/watch the plays that Bate refers to, but I may end up having to purchase it on Kindle to make it easier to find the relevant sections. A simple index, with names and titles only, would add a great deal to the final product. -
I listened to this on Audible.. mainly to give me something to listen to on a journey.. It was beautifully read and a wonderful listen. I ordered so many books mentioned in this, so it all cost me a bit, but it was very much worth it.
The summary above tells what the book is about but I would say it is more than that.. it is a very deep heartfelt story of literature far more than the summary might lead you to believe. It is a book that I don’t think I will ever forget and it has enhanced my appreciation of many books, not just Shakespeare -
Bate wrote my favorite “biography” of Shakespeare,
Soul of the Age: A Biography of the Mind of William Shakespeare. He doesn’t disappoint here this this memoir of how Shakespeare has saturated his thinking life. -
There's only one thing I like more than an informative non-fiction and that's am informative non-fiction that's blended with aspects of autobiography. So I obviously ate this the fuck up.
It made me yearn for a good Globe performance or three, which is unfortunate as I am quite literally 1000 miles away from the nearest RSC play currently. Oh. Woe is me. -
Part memoir and part celebration of literature, this book is long love letter to not only Shakespeare in general, but the role and influence Shakespeare played in the life of the author, Jonathan Bate, a professor and editor of Shakespeare. Bate narrates the book, and that makes the exuberance all the more engaging, especially the line-readings and storytelling. Bate grew up with a father who was a teacher, and when he went off the school it seems like literature was going to be his direction, but he keeps taking different paths along the way. While this book is ostensibly about Shakespeare, it’s also about those also important books that Bate read or didn’t read which shaped him. It’s also a memoir of Shakespeare’s role in shaping so many other writers later. There’s long sections of Samuel Jonson, who published a supremely important prologue to an edition of Shakespeare. There’s a section of Plath, Ted Hughes, and Robert Lowell. One of the most tender moments comes when Jonathan Bate finds his father’s complete Shakespeare where his father not only annotated the plays, but also listed out all the different performances he’d seen over the years, and to Bate’ surprise this list included some near legendary productions, like one from the 1930s in which Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud traded off portrayals of Romeo and Mercutio.
And like good memoirs of fame, and this is a weird one because of the close-knit London theater world, Jonathan Bate’s connection to actors like Judi Dench, Brian Cox, Ian McKellan, and others means that he had tons of access to that world.
The memoir has the subtitle, “From the classroom to the emergency room” as Bate’s story takes us to a medical emergency in his family, in which Shakespeare’s own thoughts and words on loss matter greatly.
